Adjustable pillow apparatus

ABSTRACT

An adjustable pillow apparatus having telescoping pillow frame attached to a pair of pillow sections, with each pillow section being attached to one end of the pillow frame. The pillow sections have angled engaging surfaces for sliding on each other so that expanding and contracting the pillow frame will slide the pillow sections to adjust the shape of the pillow.

United States Patent 1191 Mittendorf ADJUSTABLE PILLOW APPARATUS [76] Inventor: Theodor H. Mittendorf, R.R.

Box I02, Tavares, Fla. 32778 22] Filed: Nov. 17,1972

21 Appl.NO.:307,41l

[52] US. Cl 5/341, 5/327, 5/337 [51] Int. Cl A47g 9/00 [58] Field of Search 5/325, 326, 327, 5/327 B, 337, 338, 341, 352, 357; 248/1882, 446

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 319,537 6/1885 Winter 5/337 X l,549,60l 8/1925 Mulgrew v 5/327 R 885,243 4/1908 Haas 5/337 3,568,225 3/[971 Radke 5/337 2,051,563 8/1936 Mance 5/327 B 933,471 9/1909 Leahy 5/337 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 23,697 7/1912 Great Britain 5/327 546,541 1956 Belgium 5 327 Primary Examiner-Paul Rv Gilliam Attorney-William M. Hobby et al.

[57] ABSTRACT An adjustable pillow apparatus having telescoping pillow frame attached to a pair of pillow sections, with each pillow section being attached to one end of the pillow frame. The pillow sections have angled engag ing surfaces for sliding on each other so that expanding and contracting the pillow frame will slide the pillow sections to adjust the shape of the pillow.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDUBT fi m 3,763,509

SHEET 10F 2 PATENTEDBBT ems 3.763.509

SHEET 2 0F 2 ADJUSTABLE PILLOW APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to pillows and especially to adjustable pillows having means for varying the shape or thickness of the pillow.

In the past a great variety of pillows have been suggested but pillows for sleeping are usually filled with material such as foam plastics, or rubber, or filled with dacron, down or similar materials. Inasmuch as different individuals require or prefer different size pillows for best sleeping comfort, pillows are frequently produced in different sizes and having different thicknesses for different individuals. Pillows also come in different degrees of firmness. A foam polystyrene pillow might for instance come in thicknesses of 4, 6 or 8 inches. However, difficulties arise when individuals are staying away from home such as in motels, hospitals or with other friends at which time pillows are provided which may not be suited to the individual, which can result in difficulty in sleeping and in cricks in the individual's neck.

It is accordingly one advantage of the present invention to provide an adjustable pillow which may be adjustable for different individuals to provide additional comfort.

In the past it has been taught to have compartmentalized pillows some of which employ inserts and inflatable center portions in order to change the consistency of the pillow and especially the firmness of the pillow. One prior U. S. Pat. No. 3,594,833, teaches a feather pillow employing a spring loaded inner chamber, and U. S. Pat. No. 3,411,164 teaches an inflatable center section in a pillow.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An adjustable pillow is provided having a pillow frame having two end portions connected by an adjustable middle portion for expanding and contracting the length of the pillow frame. Two distinct 'pillow sections are connected to the pillow frame with one section connected to each end of the pillow frame and one section also having a connection to a portion of the middle portion of the pillow frame. The pillow sections each have angled engaging surface for engaging each other so that one slides on the other when the pillow frame is telescoped in or out to adjust the length and shape of the pillow frame. The pillow sections may be removably connected with snaps, or the like, to the pillow frame and the telescoping frame can be frictionally held in a plurality of positions or may be provided with a ratchettype latching system for holding it in any position desired. The frame may have handles in each end section for ease in adjusting the frame and pillow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the written description and the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an adjustable pillow in its expanded position; a 7

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the pillow in accordance with FIG. 1 in its fully contracted position;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view with the frame removed from the pillow sections; and

FIG. 4 is a cutaway sectional view of a pillow frame in accordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, an adjustable pillow is provided with a pair of pillow sections II and 12, each having an angled surface 13 and M and having a telescoping frame 15 connected to the bottom of the pillow sections 11 and 12. Frame 15 has a handle 16 at each end thereof for gripping for moving pillow for making adjustments.

FIG. 2 illustrates the pillow in a fully retracted position having its greatest thickness and shortest length, while FIG. 1 has the pillow fully expanded, having its greatest length and the least thickness in the middle of the pillow. Thus an individual desiring to use the pillow can grip each handle 16 of the telescoping frame 15 and slide the handles 16 towards each other or away from each other to slide the pillow sections 11 and 12 over each other to adjust the length and the thickness to his requirements. The angled surfaces 13 and 14 provide a wedge-like action for the adjustment but it should be clear that other shaped surfaces could be utilized for adjusting the pillow in different manners without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

FIG. 3 more clearly shows the operation of the invention 10 having pillow sections 11 and 12 with angled surfaces 13 and 14 with the frame 15 removed. Telescoping frame 15 has a pair of end portions 17 and 18 which slide towards or away from each other, each end portion having a handle portion 16 and each section 17 and 18 having snap attachments 20 which coincide with the location of the snap attachments 21 on the pillow sections 11 and 12 so that the frame may be snapped to the pillow sections. The end section 118 has an elongated member 21 which telescopes in and out of a section 22 attached to end section 17. Section 22 has a pair of side members 23 and bifurcated separating member 24 for providing an opening for elongated member 21 to slide in and out of. End member 17 is formed with the section 24 thereon and has the top and bottom members 23 attached to 24 by adhesive or in any manner desired. The top section 23 has a pair of snaps 25 attached thereto for attachment to snap sections 26 located on the pillow 111 for engaging the opposite end of the pillow II from the snaps 29. Thus the snaps 29 and 26 on the pillows Ill and 12 may be attached to the frame 15 snap sections 20 and 25 to secure the pillow sections to the frame. This invention is not limited to snaps for attaching the frame to the pillows, inasmuch as other attachments, such as Velcro, can be utilized without departing from the scope of the invention. The frame 15 may be telescoped by gripping the handle 16 and moving them towards each other or away from each' other by telescoping member 21 in the elongated hollow section 22 to the desired position. It should be observed that by having the one telescoping section 22 frictionally engage the telescoping section 21 the frame will hold its position by the frictional engagement.

it is contemplated that a ratchet mechanism utilizing a spring dog can be utilized for providing additional retaining force and this embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 4. FIG. 4 has the end sections 17 and 18 having handles 16 and the snap prtions 25 and 20 attached thereto. A sliding member 30 is similar to the telescoping section 21 except for the ratchet teeth 31 are formed in one side thereof. The telescoping section 32 is similar to the telescoping section 22 of FIG. 3 except that a ratchet spring 33 is provided to engage the ratchet teeth 31 so that sliding the telescoping member 30 in the telescoping section 32 will allow the spring dog 33 to slide in the ratchet teeth 31 and will hold the telescoping sections at any desired position. A protruding stop 34 is also illustrated in this view which operates in connection with a protruding member 35 located on the telescoping frame member 30 so that member 35 will engage the protruding stop 34 in telescoping section 32 to prevent the separation of the telescoping sections. The telescoping frame illustrated in FIG. 3 may also be provided with stop members 34 and 3S.

lt should be clear at this point that an adjustable pillow has been provided which may be easily adjusted for different individuals and which adjusts the length of the pillow as well as the thickness by having a distinct pillow section sliding over a second distinct pillow section. However, it should also be realized that this invention is not to be construed as limited to the particular forms disclosed herein since these are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

I claim:

1. An adjustable pillow comprising in combination:

a pillow frame having two end portions movably con- 1 each engaging surface of each pillow section being slidable on the other pillow section when said pillow frame is adjusted whereby the shape of said pillow can be adjusted by adjusting said pillow frame;

removable attachment means for removably attaching each said pillow section to one end portion of said pillow frame, said removable attachment means having a portion on each said end portion of said pillow frame and a portion on each said pillow section whereby engaging said portion on said pillow frame with said portion on said pillow section will removably attach said pillow sections to said frame; and

gripping means for gripping said pillow for adjusting said pillow frame.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which said pillow frame and pillow sections each have snap connections thereon for removably snapping said pillow sections to said pillow frames.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which said pillow frame includes a telescoping middle portion frictionally held at different positions.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which said pillow frame includes a telescoping middle portion having a ratchet mechanism for holding said frame at different positions.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which gripping means includes said pillow frame end portions each having handles therein for holding said frame for adjusting said pillow. 

1. An adjustable pillow comprising in combination: a pillow frame having two end portions movably connected by an adjustable middle portion for expanding and contracting the length of said pillow frame; a pair of pillow sections each connected to one end portion of said pillow frame and each having an angled engaging surface for engaging the other pillow section to form a pair of sliding wedges; each engaging surface of each pillow section being slidable on the other pillow section when said pillow frame is adjusted whereby the shape of said pillow can be adjusted by adjusting said pillow frame; removable attachment means for removably attaching each said pillow section to one end portion of said pillow frame, said removable attachment means having a portion on each said end portion of said pillow frame and a portion on each said pillow section whereby engaging said portion on said pillow frame with said portion on said pillow section will removably attach said pillow sections to said frame; and gripping means for gripping said pillow for adjusting said pillow frame.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which said pillow frame and pillow sections each have snap connections thereon for removably snapping said pillow sections to said pillow frames.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which said pillow frame includes a telescoping middle portion frictionally held at different positions.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which said pillow frame includes a telescoping middle portion having a ratchet mechanism for holding said frame at different positions.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which gripping means includes said pillow frame end portions each having handles therein for holding said frame for adjusting said pillow. 